Championship weekend may not have had the volume of games, but it packed dominance with a touch of drama into the day’s proceedings.
New 2016 college football rankings, Week 15: How Championship Weekend changed the Playoff and top 25s
Your final Playoff rankings before bowl season are here, along with the major human polls.
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Alabama steamrolled Florida in the SEC Championship Game, as did Washington with Colorado in the Pac-12 title game.
Things got interesting in the ACC Championship Game with Clemson holding off Virginia Tech. And in the game of the day, Penn State roared back to beat Wisconsin.
Elsewhere: Oklahoma and Oklahoma State played a de facto Big 12 title game (which the Sooners won). And we were all saved a lot of bowl hand-wringing when Temple beat Navy to win the AAC. That means Western Michigan’s Friday night MAC championship win should slot the Broncos firmly in the Cotton Bowl, and Sunday can proceed without impediment.
Here’s your final Playoff ranking before bowl season. Below, a bunch of other human- and computer-generated polls:
| Rank | Team | Conference | Prev week | Week 14 result |
| 1 | Alabama, 13-0 | SEC | 1 | 54-16 W vs. Florida |
| 2 | Clemson, 12-1 | ACC | 3 | 42-35 W vs. Virginia Tech |
| 3 | Ohio State, 11-1 | Big Ten | 2 | BYE |
| 4 | Washington, 12-1 | Pac-12 | 4 | 41-10 W vs. Colorado |
| 5 | Penn State, 11-2 | Big Ten | 7 | 38-31 W vs. Wisconsin |
| 6 | Michigan, 10-2 | Big Ten | 5 | BYE |
| 7 | Oklahoma | Big 12 | 9 | 38-20 W vs. Oklahoma State |
| 8 | Wisconsin | Big Ten | 6 | 38-31 L vs. Penn State |
| 9 | USC | Pac-12 | 11 | BYE |
| 10 | Colorado | Pac-12 | 8 | 41-10 L vs. Washington |
| 11 | Florida State | ACC | 12 | BYE |
| 12 | Oklahoma State | Big 12 | 10 | 38-20 L vs. Oklahoma |
| 13 | Louisville | ACC | 13 | BYE |
| 14 | Auburn | SEC | 14 | BYE |
| 15 | Western Michigan | MAC | 17 | 29-23 W vs. Ohio |
| 16 | West Virginia | Big 12 | 16 | 24-21 W vs. Baylor |
| 17 | Florida | SEC | 15 | 54-16 L vs. Alabama |
| 18 | Stanford | Pac-12 | 18 | BYE |
| 19 | Utah | Pac-12 | 20 | BYE |
| 20 | LSU, 7-4 | SEC | 21 | BYE |
| 21 | Tennessee, 8-4 | SEC | 22 | BYE |
| 22 | Virginia Tech, 9-4 | ACC | 23 | 42-35 L vs. Clemson |
| 23 | Pitt, 8-4 | ACC | 25 | BYE |
| 24 | Temple, 10-3 | American | NR | 34-10 W vs. Navy |
| 25 | Navy, 9-3 | American | 19 | 34-10 L vs. Temple |
The non-Playoff rankings:
| Rank | AP | Coaches | S&P+ | Sagarin |
| 1 | Alabama (61) | Alabama (58) | Alabama | Alabama |
| 2 | Ohio State | Ohio State | Michigan | Ohio State |
| 3 | Clemson | Clemson | Ohio State | Michigan |
| 4 | Washington | Washington | Clemson | Washington |
| 5 | Penn State | Penn State | LSU | Clemson |
| 6 | Michigan | Michigan | Washington | Penn State |
| 7 | Oklahoma | Oklahoma | Louisville | Wisconsin |
| 8 | Wisconsin | Wisconsin | USC | USC |
| 9 | USC | USC | Florida State | Oklahoma |
| 10 | FSU | FSU | Oklahoma | Colorado |
| 11 | Colorado | Colorado | Auburn | FSU |
| 12 | WMU | WVU | Penn State | LSU |
| 13 | OK State | OK State | Miami | WSU |
| 14 | WVU | WMU | WKU | Auburn |
| 15 | Louisville | Louisville | Boise State | WMU |
| 16 | Stanford | Stanford | Wisconsin | Louisville |
| 17 | Auburn | Auburn | Colorado | Stanford |
| 18 | Virginia Tech | Florida | Temple | Iowa |
| 19 | LSU | Virginia Tech | Texas A&M | OK State |
| 20 | Florida | LSU | Iowa | Miami |
| 21 | Iowa | Nebraska | Stanford | Temple |
| 22 | Pitt | USF | North Carolina | WVU |
| 23 | Temple | Utah | Colorado State | KSU |
| 24 | Nebraska | Temple | Virginia Tech | Houston |
| 25 | USF | Iowa | Notre Dame | Virginia Tech |
The five rankings used here
The College Football Playoff Top 25: The final selection committee rankings drop during the Playoff selection show that begins at noon ET on Sunday, but the rankings won’t drop until 2:30 p.m. This is where we’ll find out not only who is in the College Football Playoff, but also in the other New Year’s Six bowl games.
The Associated Press Top 25: The longest-running and best-respected human poll. Didn’t have any official bearing on the latter years of the BCS and doesn’t have any official bearing on the Playoff. The AP Poll can be expected early afternoon on Sunday.
The USA Today Coaches Poll: Formerly part of the BCS and now just a poll. It tends to react more cautiously than the AP’s. Though polling athletic departments to rank other athletic departments is dubious, we still want multiple human polls in here, and this is the other big one. This poll typically rolls in around noon on Sunday.
Bill Connelly’s S&P+ ratings: SB Nation’s favored advanced stat. An important thing to keep in mind: It will probably look different than the human polls, but that’s because it isn’t a human poll! It’s a measure of efficiency derived from play-by-play and drive data from every FBS game. It’s designed to predict which teams would win upcoming games, not award teams for impressive wins.
The Sagarin rating: A long-running computer ranking, similar to Connelly’s
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